Use It Up: Fruit Butter Waffles

I recently took inventory of my chest freezer and the shelves where we keep my canned goods. As it turns out, we haven’t been eating nearly enough fruit preserves. Or I made way too many. Or a combination of the two. Because I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to eat 15 half-pint jars of strawberry red wine jam before strawberries come into season again…though it is a challenge I’m certainly willing to take on!

So I’m playing with some new creative ways to use my preserves. We have a ton of apple and peach butters, so I’ve been playing around with a recipe for fruit butter waffles. The first time around, they were too soft, almost crumbly. Then they were tough and overly chewy. And so on and so on, until I finally nailed down the texture I was going for. Now, they are perfect: nice and fluffy, not at all dry, and with a subtle fruit flavor.

Here’s to delicious recipes using homemade fruit preserves. Especially those that are easily frozen!

The fruit flavor in these waffles is subtle, so subtle that you might miss it if you don't look for it. But I kind of love them that way. If you want a more obvious fruit flavor, try mixing some fresh berries into the batter at the end. Or do what we did, and top them with another fruit preserve.
This recipe makes a lot of waffles. But that's perfect! They freeze well, so save some for quick future breakfasts. Or, have some friends over for brunch!

Ingredients

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 whole eggs

2 cups low-fat milk

1 cup fruit butter (I've used both peach and apple, but any should work)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together with a fork. Create a sort of a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Crack the eggs into the well and break up the yolks with the fork. Add the milk, fruit butter and butter and stir until there are no dry spots left in the batter.

Cook the waffles according to your waffle iron's directions, using about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter for each waffle.

Make Ahead and Storage

These waffles freeze well. You can find instructions on the best way to freeze them here.